hollywood draw

In early May, the weather in Los Angeles has begun to turn like a stove. With the upcoming summer season, the popularity of the Oscars has gradually faded, and what the media and the public have discussed have begun to become expectations for major projects in the summer season.

The high-profile "The Flash" that started during the summer season, and "Godzilla" released on the same weekend, the first trailer was released by Warner Bros., which immediately caused countless topics, "Save Private Ryan", and "X-Men" produced by Twentieth Century Fox, which invited Wayne to produce it for a lot of money, etc.

However, for viewers who are looking forward to the movie feast, these videos are still far away, and at least they cannot be seen in the near future. Recently, the big investment science fiction film "The Great Collision of Heaven and Earth" produced and distributed by Paramount Pictures.

This science fiction movie will begin to land on the 5th and 9th on the mainstream commercial theaters in North America. Trailers on TV, billboards everywhere on the streets, movie posters that appear overnight in cinemas and audio-visual stores are constantly reminding everyone that the extremely hot summer season will be launched soon by this science fiction blockbuster.

"Paramon Pictures, maybe this time it will really do what it wants."

A large conference room in the Fox Building in Beverly Century City has been decorated as a small movie screening room. David Denby, a special film critic from "The New Yorker", whispered to Kenneth Tulane while watching the movie that was about to come to an end.

Although the topics they talked about had nothing to do with the movie "X-Men" on the big screen, their eyes frequently looked at the front row of the conference room. There were not only several senior executives of Fox, but also several main creators of "X-Men", as well as the film's producer and screenwriter, Wayne Greenberg.

“It’s hard to say.”

Seeing that the movie was coming to an end, Kenneth Tulan let out a long sigh, closed the record book on his legs, turned to look at David Denby beside him, and said in a voice that only two people could hear clearly: "David, since the day I met Wayne, he has been beyond everyone's expectations. Who knows if Paramount Pictures will fall a big fuck this time?"

The film critic from "The New Yorker" shook his head slightly, knowing that the other party was Wayne's fan, so he did not continue this topic. It is meaningless to argue about these things now, and after a while, it will naturally be clear.

Things can be seen very clearly in the eyes of those insiders. First, Godzilla, who wanted to imitate "Jurassic Park 2" and started to take advantage of the summer season. In fact, the outside world was not optimistic about Sony Columbia's plan at the beginning. "Godzilla" was not "Jurassic Park", which had a popular global predecessor, and Roland Emmerich was not Steven Spielberg.

But it has to be said that Sony Columbia announced its release date early, which has taken a lot of advantage in publicity. There is no doubt about the popularity of "The Flash", so Sony Columbia is at ease when it comes to taking advantage of it. After all, what they do is something that no one dares to do in recent years.

Even when Universal Studios, the previous year, was arranging the release plan for "Jurassic Park 2", it slightly avoided the edge of "Batman: The Dark Knight" and chose to release it one weekend.

But with the so-called "good news" in the circle flying, the long-standing films of "The Flash" have been debated, and Sony Colombia's behavior has begun to be popular among the people in the circle. Many people even think that the CEO from the book is definitely a significant winning rate.

If this situation makes many people in the circle wait and see the show and look forward to Wayne's first real Waterloo, then Paramount Pictures' subsequent behavior undoubtedly verifies most people's speculations. The film "The Flash" should be really a problem.

"The Great Collision of Heaven and Earth" is scheduled to be released on May 9. This is a schedule that big companies are hiding, and it is also a schedule that only small and medium-sized productions choose, because as long as two more weeks are spent, you must face the dark king of summer season.

Any company that invests tens of millions or hundreds of millions of dollars is hoping to make a lot of money in this period. In just two weeks of screening time, no matter how powerful the box office exploded in the early stage, once it faces the dark king of summer, it means it has reached the end. But Paramount Pictures did this.

"There are wolves in front and tigers in the back, Wayne."

Sitting in the middle of the first row, Townsend Rossman didn't even watch "X-Men". He turned his head and whispered to talk about this topic. "Child, with the experience of a person who has experienced it, I have to remind you."

"What?"

Wayne's face changed nowhere, and his voice was still filled with strong confidence.

"I remind you that in my experience, Paramount and Sony Columbia have at least some kind of tacit understanding, at least." The 20th Century Fox CEO said directly: "So, what you have to face, or what Warner Brothers have to face, is probably a tacit understanding of the two giants."

Similar things are common among the Six Majors. Townsend Rossman has seen them many times over the years.

This is how things are. If you are strong today, I will work with you with others. If you find that this is not in my interest tomorrow, I can turn around and join forces with you to work with my partner yesterday.

Undoubtedly, "The Flash" released by Warner Bros. is the target of Paramount and Sony Columbia that openly join forces, and is also the strongest of the three.

"Then let's come together." Shawed, Wayne slowly raised the corners of his mouth, and there was a strong sarcasm in his sunny smile. "Townsen, I have never been afraid of competition, nor have I retreated in competition, nor have I failed."

As soon as he finished speaking, scrolling subtitles began to appear on the big screen, and the scene began to gradually become warmer from scattered applause. The two of them did not continue to speak, and followed the sound of applause and slapped their palms together.

The staff of Twentieth Century Fox opened the curtains with their hands and feet. The bursting sunlight outside the window shone into the conference room, dispelling the darkness that lasted for more than a hundred minutes.

The media representatives invited by 20th Century Fox, film viewing experts from theater companies, and well-known film critics from all walks of life, said good words of blessing, and left the conference room in an orderly manner under the guidance of the staff. They will turn to another battlefield, a hotel booked by 20th Century Fox, where there is a high-end cocktail party waiting for these people.

"Townsen, in mid-August, the American artist chain will free up enough theaters and screens to "X-Men."

A supervisor from an American theater chain company, a movie watcher, muttered a few words with the film watcher, and after exchanging opinions, he was the first to express his opinion. While shaking hands with Townsend Rossman, he made a promise. "I really didn't expect that this video would be so outstanding."

As he said that, he turned his head and looked at Wayne on the side, politely stretched out his hand again, and continued: "It's your own producer, screenwriter, Wayne, you used this video to tell the whole Hollywood that even if the comic-adapted superhero is not from DC, there is still a way to shoot it to attract people!"

"Thank you, Tommy."

Wayne nodded, without any politeness, and accepted the other party's praise in full.

Tommy Coburn, the film selection director of the American Artist Theater Company, did not follow the staff after a few greetings. He stood there without moving, paused for a moment, looked at the young and tough face in front of him, and continued:

"Wayne, the American artists and theater companies have always given your projects the best screening treatment, whether it is the number of theaters, screens, or the number of films scheduled in theaters. This was the case before, and this will not change in the future."

"Thank you very much, Tommy."

Although he didn't know what the other party wanted to express, Wayne still thanked him again. He was clearer than anyone else. What the other party said was not the focus. His projects were always the top treatment in the theater alliance led by the three major theater companies. It was not that they liked themselves or their works, but that they just because those movies could make money for them.

Being able to make money and being able to make money continuously is the reason why he gets top treatment, so he is very sober and never gets influenced by the inflated emotions just because of a few good words from the other party. As long as his works can continue to make money, he is not afraid of losing such treatment at all.

Sure enough, before he was allowed to wait too long, Tommy Coburn expressed his purpose. "Wayne, I'm just very curious, and it doesn't mean the National Artists' Cinema Alliance. Your "Flash" really doesn't hold a media trial? You know, today's media trial will be very helpful in promoting the film..."

“no.”

Smiling and shook his head, Wayne said: "The Flash will not hold any kind of preview until May 19. This is the decision made by Warner Bros. with me."

It has come early May. So far, "The Flash" has not held an open trial, nor has it related plans. This is the main reason why media in the circle, big and small, are gradually becoming less optimistic about this film.

All the news about "The Flash" was leaked after the internal trial of Warner Bros. But these verbal news are still very unfavorable to the film, which is intriguing.

The reason why Warner Bros. did this is obviously covering up what, which is what most people think. Otherwise, after several media previews, it is impossible for Warner Bros. to know how much the promotional benefits of the movie will be.

There is only one reason. Warner Bros. does not want the content of the film to be exposed too early to avoid affecting the subsequent release. This is the only reason that can be explained.

However, everything is based on speculation. It is not a big reason for people to think like this. If the quality of the film is qualified, capital like Warner Bros. will never miss the promotion opportunity. You should know that on the eve of the release of the film, the locations of large and large media, film critic columns, etc. are important positions for publicity and distribution, and no film company is willing to give up.

"Don't tell me, you did this on purpose?"

After everyone in the conference room left one after another, Townsend Rossman glanced at Harry Berry, who held Wayne's arm tightly, shook his head slightly. He didn't care much about the African beauty and asked directly. "There is no reason, Wayne, compared to the mystery caused by the little bit of mystery, it is completely unworthy of the loss."

"Okay, you might as well care more about X-Men."

Neither nodded nor shook his head, Wayne just smiled and raised his hand and gently patted the other person's arm.

Seeing his performance, Townsend Rossman couldn't continue asking, so he simply turned the topic back to the "X-Men" trial today. "Those critics, Fox have already "public relations". As long as the intensive publicity plan begins, they will follow closely. You have to arrange your time in advance, Wayne, the whole August..."

"Okay, I have arranged my work plan in advance."

In fact, this is the theme about "X-Men", because almost all the promotional focus of this film in the early stage is Wayne, and it will also be promoted around him.

"X-Men" was released across the United States in mid-August, and the publicity must be carried out one step ahead of schedule. At that time, he will basically participate in all activities, and then lead the entire crew to roadshow across the United States for the sake of the film. If the box office results of the film are ideal, overseas roadshows will be held next.

This determines that this summer season is destined to be busy from beginning to end. If he wants to be idle, he will have to wait until around September, but by then, Wayne will basically start the production of the next project.

"Do you want to show off when you have a drink?"

Seeing that everyone had already gone to the hotel, Townsend Rossman nodded to the secretary and turned to look at Wayne and asked.

"Forget it, I don't want to be besieged by those critics and media representatives."

Shaking his head gently, Wayne shrugged. "You go and do it first. If you have any questions, you can call me directly."

After saying that, he tidied up the buttons of his suit top and walked out of the conference room with the black pearl beside him.

Looking at his back, Townsend Rossman shrugged, not too much. He knew the other person's personality. If it were not necessary, the hot women around him would definitely be more attractive than those annoying media.

Especially at this point in time, 20th Century Fox is even more unlikely to offend the other party because of trivial matters. After "Batman: The Dark Knight" was completely out of stock, many companies suspected that the DC series had a market of 10 billion yuan worldwide, which is definitely good news for 20th Century Fox after Warner Bros.

Now the entire company is hoping that "X-Men" can achieve expectations. They do not expect to reach the level of the DC series, but the profitability represented by superheroes will never be lower than the profits created by successful animated feature films.

In fact, in Townsend Rossman's eyes, Paramount's joining forces with Sony Columbia is more inclined to see Wayne's failure.

Whether the Flash is abnormally not held for the preview, whether it is the mysterious act of Warner Bros. and Wayne, or something else, he knows that once the Flash project fails, it will definitely affect all aspects, not only affect the follow-up plan of the DC series, but also very likely to affect the inseparable relationship between Wayne and Warner Bros.

Continuous success can cover up all problems. This is an iron rule since ancient times. Once failure begins to appear, can Warner Bros. senior executives and shareholders still endure the DC series with a market size of 10 billion yuan, and be controlled by this young man?

Townsend Rossman knows the virtues of capital too much, and someone will be eager to jump out and find a way to make trouble and kick Wayne away. You should know that when DC is on the right track, there will definitely be more people who don’t want to have such a person who shares a lot of interests in every video.

By then, even if most of Warner Bros. still believed in Wayne, once the crack appeared, it would be difficult to make up for it. This situation was what he had always hoped for.

To put it bluntly, Twentieth Century Fox is willing to be divided into a large amount of profits, but as long as there is no rift between Warner Bros. and Wayne, they will not have the chance to send out these profits. No one wants to see a giant in Hollywood. From the perspective of Twentieth Century Fox, Townsend Rossman is of course not willing.

"Do you want to go to my place to have a look?"

The Rolls-Royce Phantom drove out of Century City smoothly. Harry Berry, who was sitting in the car, turned his eyes and looked at the silent assistant lady in a hidden way. He turned his head to the man beside him and said, "I bought a new house, and the scenery there is very good."

"Ha, where is it?"

Hearing the woman's suggestion, Wayne carefully looked at Black Pearl's hot figure, licked his lips, and asked with interest.

“Palleyside.”

"Bang, bang." The man's reaction was very real. He raised his hand and knocked the baffle separated from the driver's seat twice. After seeing the huge back of the Russian-born bear, he whispered. "Sergey, go to Paliside."

The car driving towards the manor turned around at the next intersection, turned around and began to move away from Beverly Hills, heading straight to Paliside, a traditional wealthy district in Los Angeles.

After years of accumulation, Harry Berry has fulfilled one of his wishes, which is to own a luxury house in the wealthy area of ​​Los Angeles. Paliside is located in the traditional wealthy area of ​​western Los Angeles. It is a unique Feng Shui treasure land. It is backed by the Santa Monica Valley and facing the Pacific Ocean. Various high-end residences are hidden in the mountains.

The three-story villa that Harry Berry bought is not a top luxury house in this area, but the location is quite good. As she said, the scenery is very pleasant.

"I sold the Beverly house and spent all my savings before I paid off the down payment for the house."

On the balcony of the third floor of the villa located halfway up the mountain, Wayne was wearing a bathrobe, took the red wine handed over by the woman, leaned on the chair and looked at the Pacific Ocean in the distance. Hearing the woman's words, he withdrew his gaze in surprise and said half-seriously and half-jokingly: "You don't need to do this. If you want, you can go and talk to Nina, and she will help you pay off the remaining loan."

A man is not short of money, especially at this time, and basically every woman around him knows the news that Warner Brothers paid him a sky-high price of cash, and entertainment newspapers are still hyping up. They know more clearly that as long as it is not too much demand, this man has always been very generous to women.

Harry Berry looked at the man in front of him deeply, and still bit his lip and shook his head. "Dear, the total price of this house is 16.5 million US dollars. As long as my career goes well, I can afford this house myself."

Nodded silently, Wayne stopped mentioning this matter, and no one knew whether his proposal just now came from sincerity, but obviously this trick was very useful to women.

He looked down and glanced at the squatting on the ground, and began to try to please his woman. The corners of his mouth slowly began to rise. He simply held the balcony fence with one hand and red wine with the other, and began to appreciate the scenery below the mountain with his eyes.

"You have a good vision."

"Well, of course..." A vague muttering sound came from beneath him.

As Wayne said, it is sincere to praise this woman for choosing a house. This villa by Harry Berry is located at the high point of the winding coastline, surrounded by green trees. Although it is only halfway up the mountain, it is located at the end of the road, to a certain extent, guarantees absolute privacy.

If we include the garden, swimming pool, and the lawn behind the villa, the entire residence covers an area of ​​about 1,000 square meters. After a rough observation just now, he found that the house has at least 6,7 bedrooms and more than 8 bathrooms. What’s rare is that there is a large wine cellar underground and a home theater that can accommodate about 10 people.

Los Angeles has always been a top metropolis, so the prices of such residential properties have naturally been quite high. For example, they are in the current position. Even if the price is far higher than the average market price, they never have to worry about the next company they have not taken over. In Wayne's opinion, this is definitely a high-quality investment choice.

"The phone rang, this is the third time."

The woman was obviously a little anxious and staggered when she got up. "Dear, there should be something urgent, otherwise she wouldn't have called three times in a row."

"Go, go and answer the phone."

Wayne held the wine glass and saw the woman's throat sniffling with a noticeable movement, she leaned directly on the chair behind her and waved her hand. But the news she received next covered him with a layer of dust, who was in a very happy mood just now.

"You mean, Jimmy is the caller?"

"yes." Harry Berry carefully observed the man's face and nodded like a frightened rabbit.

"You mean Jimmy, as your agent, was invited by an executive in Warner Bros. Film and Television Production Department, to invite you to star in the Catwoman in the DC series?"

“That’s how it is.”

Seeing the man's brows begin to frown, Black Pearl was obviously panicked. Of course she knew what this meant and immediately explained stammeringly. "You have to believe me, my dear, I don't know why I invited me. I don't know why this happened. Listen to me, Hani..."

As we all know, the DC movie universe was completely planned and implemented and mastered by this man. However, now, someone wants to shoot the Catwoman in the series without his knowledge, and invites a female star who has always had scandals with him, which is intriguing.

Now, not only Harry Berry is moved by any character in the DC series, but no one in Hollywood actors refuses it. But she knows the meaning behind this matter. If the trouble is not good, it is the product of Warner Bros. senior infighting. Some people want to shake Wayne's influence in the series.

So, the first time she received the call, she felt only fear and was not surprised to be invited to play the heroine.

"Boss, can I come in?"

At this moment, Nina's voice suddenly sounded outside the bedroom door on the third floor. "Jimmy called you several times in a row, and it should be an important matter..."